Necropolis
by Avatar2016
Summary: A meeting turns to horror when America finds out that a disease has been spreading across the nation. A disease that seems eerily similar to 'zombies'. Rated T for obvious violence.
1. Chapter 1

** [APH] Necropolis **

**Hetalia + Zombies. What else can I say?**

England rested his head on the meeting table and sighed deeply. The short stack of papers he had with him seemed endless and there was more at home. Letters from his government, foreign affairs with almost every country there was, personal notes from other nations, and pointless documents that needed to be read and signed. But for now, he could just wait for America to show.

The other nations seemed to be swamped with work as well. Germany was focusing intently over a document he held tightly. Italy was glancing at a folder in front of him, frowning slightly. Romano was scribbling something angrily while Spain watched behind him with a bemused look. Russia read over documents, his head resting on his palm. Belarus sat next to him, but was surveying her work as well and ignoring her brother. France seemed to be drawing something on his paper, but England couldn't tell what. He could imagine what it was though. Others present were primarily doing the same thing.

The meeting would start when America appeared. The meeting should have started an hour ago and they would have begun already if America wasn't the one hosting this particular meeting. "This is just like him. Being late to his own meeting." England muttered to himself quietly, sitting up straight. The meeting room was bleak. The walls were a dull shade of gray and there were no windows. The only lighting came from the buzzing fluorescent lights above them.

The only sound in the room was the shifting of paper and sighing of bored nations. Prussia, who usually appeared at meetings unwanted, was being abnormally quiet. He seemed to be listening to music from the weak sound England could hardly hear. Outside, there were the sounds everyone had become used to while they were visiting America. Everyone had been in the room for about two hours and the evident boredom was becoming tiring.

Most of the countries present looked up, hearing the sound of doors slamming downstairs. "That's probably him." Hungary stated, looking at the door expectantly. The sound of running feet was accompanied with high-pitched screaming from somewhere outside. Most of them ignored the yelling until it seemed to grow louder and more voices added to it.

Italy looked around nervously. "Should we leave?"

"If it's a threat, we're probably safer inside anyway." Germany reassured him. Italy didn't look convinced, but still went back to browsing the folder he had with him.

The door slammed against the wall and was hurriedly shut again while America pressed his body against it. He was breathing heavily and looked like he could barely stand. The group looked over at him.

"Well you're finally here. Lazy git." England complained, narrowing his eyes at America who had his back turned to him.

"Eh…is there something out there?" Canada asked quietly, looking concerned for his brother.

America nodded hastily and turned to the assembly of nations in front of him. They watched him carefully, everyone silently wondering what had happened. He was out of breath and leaning against the door. "Something…something's wrong."

"What do you mean?" Japan asked curiously. America hesitated to reply and looked down at the floor. The lights flickered and China swore as he lost connection with the internet.

"Well? Are you going to tell us or not?" Russia asked, now glaring at the exhausted American.

"Some sort of…virus or rabies or infection or _something_. I don't know what it could be; people are turning insane and dying! I've never seen anything like it…I hope my scientists would tell me before they unleashed anything or maybe it's something natural, but it just looks too...too much like something else." America tried to explain, but he just received more confused looks from the group.

"The swine flu?" Denmark asked jokingly, recalling the American panic from a few years ago.

"I…there's...people are becoming…" America hesitated again, averting his gaze to the floor. He feared their reactions.

"Dammit just tell us already!" England shouted, hitting the table violently. He was tired of America stumbling over his words while trying to explain whatever had happened. From what England gathered, it seemed America was either going crazy or had created a surprisingly realistic prank.

"They look like zombies!" America shouted before sliding to the ground. "Oh God this is horrible." He whispered to himself. "Everyone is going to die and it's probably my fault. Scientists have been experimenting with some odd substances…that experiment I was in…" He faltered and resorted to biting one of his nails neurotically.

The room was silent, everyone staring at the American. "Do…do you think he's telling the truth?" Lithuania asked, looking around the table for answers.

"If he is this could obviously get out of hand. An outbreak of a virus is one thing, but if it's anything like what he described...from what I've seen in the media it is not going to be good." Japan mused quietly.

"You're going to trust what you saw in American video games and movies?" England asked, staring at Japan. "We're going to have to look for ourselves before we jump to conclusions. Although I personally think America's gone mad." England whispered the last part, glancing at America warily.

"Where is the screaming coming from then? I don't think crimes happen this often in America." France asked, referring to the shouts that still pierced the air outside.

"Good point, France." Germany noted. "From what it sounds, I think we should go out there armed. Does anyone happen to have any firearms with them?"

Russia raised his hand and Switzerland followed tentatively. "Fantastic, what do you have?" Germany inquired, looking at the Russian first.  
>"A pistol with a few rounds. Anything bigger I was afraid would be confiscated." Russia explained casually, opening his briefcase to retrieve the weapon.<p>

"Two revolvers, a few hand grenades, and three rounds for an AK I don't have with me." Switzerland described, reaching for his bag as well.

"It's not much, but better than nothing." Germany announced, grabbing the pistol from Russia and waiting for Switzerland to hand over his weapons.

"Someone's going to have to talk to America or something. He's no use if he's going to go insane again." Russia noted watching the depressed country with slight amusement.

"You can. He certainly won't listen to me." England said, also observing America.

"Me? The Cold War wasn't too long ago, if you can remember." Russia retaliated. Even though the countries' superiors had improved relations, the two still hated each other.

"That's why he'll listen." England whispered. Russia sighed with annoyance and stood up. Belarus looked at him with concern, but stayed quiet. He didn't want to do this, but he thought he should try. _'Maybe,' _he thought,_ 'I'll just make him worse.'_

Russia crouched down next to America carefully. "Alfred, my dear comrade, what do you hear?"

"My life is ruined…" America muttered, still keeping his gaze directed at the floor.

"That is screaming. Your people, screaming in terror. If you are correct, they are also being eaten by bloodthirsty 'zombies'. That will also be your fate if you choose to sit here. Now I would gladly leave you to die, but I don't think England would like that too much. Even though I do hate that мудак. Now get up, we have to see if there are actually zombies. I also have a feeling that if they are zombies, you would have the most knowledge about them."

Russia stood up and offered his hand to America. He reluctantly accepted it. "Do we have any weapons?" The American asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Were you not listening to what we were discussing?" Russia asked, glaring at him. "We have a few. Pistols and grenades are the extent of our weaponry so far. Your wonderful 2nd Amendment will surely change that."

"Of course." America replied, grinning. His mood had changed rapidly, which concerned Canada.

"Alfred…you are being serious, right?" Canada asked his brother.

"Yeah, you'll see soon enough. I just can't believe…something as surreal as this could happen. My favorite thing about video games has actually happened."  
>Canada nodded weakly and left America, although he wasn't completely convinced.<p>

"It's decided. All of us are going to leave and investigate. Bring your stuff if you please, but you most likely will not need it." Germany announced to the group of nations before him. "Before we leave, I would like to have a list of everyone who is here." He commanded. He produced a small piece of lined paper from his pocket and quickly noted who was present. The room was awkwardly quiet, with the exception of America discussing zombies with Japan quietly.

**Germany  
>North Italy<br>Japan  
>Great Britain<br>France  
>United States of America<br>Russia  
>China<br>South Italy  
>Spain<br>Denmark  
>Sweden<br>Finland  
>Norway<br>Iceland  
>Austria<br>Hungary  
>Prussia<br>Poland  
>Lithuania<br>Latvia  
>Estonia<br>Greece  
>Switzerland<br>Belarus  
>Liechtenstein<br>Canada**

It was a rather lengthy list, but some countries were still absent. Ukraine, Seychelles, Cuba, South Korea, Turkey and others. Germany knew they were required to come to the meeting. Why they chose to stay home was beyond him, but he was also worried for them. But he quickly disregarded the feeling and pocketed the list.

"Okay. America, Russia, and Switzerland are armed with guns. England and France will have the grenades. We will lead the group out of here. In the event that the 'zombies' are the running variety, we will have to find a large vehicle, such as a bus, and seek protection elsewhere. With…traditional zombies, stay away from the infected at all costs and we'll try to find somewhere to stay so we can form a plan. If there are no zombies, we will return here and resume our meeting. Try to avoid being attacked. Until we know what effect this has on us, take every precaution you can." Everyone remained silent while Germany instructed them, though America and a few others couldn't help but smirk when he mentioned zombies in his serious tone.

America found his way to the front of the group and met with Russia. The Russian nodded at him to open the door. With a deep breath, America opened the door and revealed an empty hallway. The screams became louder and it was evident there were victims of something a few floors down.  
>The echoing shouts made America shiver while thinking of what could be happening to his people currently. Although he could only imagine what the other countries were feeling outside of their home. Was the virus everywhere or isolated solely in America?<p>

Russia prodded America with his revolver. "Are we leaving yet?" America nodded and stepped outside. The stairway was conveniently located a few steps away to the left across the hall. The lights flashed again, making Italy mutter something in Italian fearfully. America opened the door to the stairway and peered down. It was empty except for a frighteningly fresh blood splatter on the wall.

America made his way down, Russia following beside him. Their footsteps echoed in the stairway and added an air of suspense. There seemed to be another sound other than the screaming and commotion from outside. Then, greeting them at the bottom of the stairs was what America had described as a zombie.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The infected person had a large gash on his wrist, blood staining the graying skin around it. His shirt was torn in several places and also stained with crimson. Its hair was matted with blood and seemed to be dyed the same horrible color. It was stumbling towards the door until it heard the group approaching. Its eyes were bloodshot and had a glossy look to them. It held its mouth open in a snarl and lunged forward feebly. Its hand brushed America's arm and the American jumped back. "They're real." He, and others in the crowd, whispered.

Russia leveled his revolver and shot the zombie in the head. It fell backwards, half of its head scattered on the floor and certainly dead. Whispers of fear spread through the unarmed group. "You weren't lying. America, do you know how this happened?" Austria asked, leaning against a railing.

"I have no idea. I kinda remember a small experiment a group of my scientists were doing. The rats they tested on lost their eyesight and became very dangerous. Like rabies, but it acted faster. I don't remember if they proved it to be infectious or not. I ordered them to stop the experiment because I thought nothing good would come of it. I couldn't imagine using it as a bioweapon." America explained, examining the corpse carefully.

"So it's your fault?" Iceland asked, looking suspiciously at the American. He paused and then nodded.

"What else? I should have let them continue, at least until they found a cure."

"America, we have no idea what the bloody hell has happened. We just need to get out of here and find someplace to figure out what we're going to do." England explained sternly, getting anxious after seeing the proof. He just hoped it couldn't spread to anywhere else. He felt selfish, but he didn't need zombies in his home.

"Fine. Let's go." America opened the next door and revealed another empty hallway. A small table was knocked over, along with the vase that had rested on it. Other than that, the hallway was clean.

"This can't be right…only one zombie so far? Where's everyone else?" Switzerland asked no one in particular while advancing forward.

"This is weird." America replied slowly. He found the next set of stairs and opened the door. Nothing again. There was a bright flash and a harsh beeping filled the air. "Shit." America tilted his head back to look at the fire alarm flashing.

"There's a fire too?" Someone from the group asked.

Russia pulled his scarf over his nose. "I don't see any smoke yet." He turned to America, who was quickly advancing down the stairs. "We're on the first floor?"  
>"Yeah." America was watching smoke curl up from under the final door. "Everyone try to cover your mouth and nose with something. I know what it's like to be in a burning building." After waiting a few moments and attempting to brace himself, America opened the door. The expected cloud of smoke poured into the room, stinging his eyes.<br>He continued forward, trying to watch for attacking zombies. The thick smoke made it near impossible to see, though Russia seemed to be able to navigate easily. The temperature didn't change much, so the fire had to be in another room. He hoped it was away from the main lobby, but he couldn't tell.

"Where now? Left or right?" Russia asked, peering down both of the hallways.

"Left!" A muffled voice shouted from the group. "I took the stairs up to here."  
>Russia nodded and led the way down the hallway. The shouting became louder and independent fires were burning paintings and chairs. He kept himself pressed close to the right wall, watching for zombies and fire. He couldn't see clearly, but his vision was better than the rest of the group.<p>

"We should be near the entrance now. Do you see anyone?" The same voice, which sounded like Hungary, yelled the directions. Russia continued, America stalking behind him carefully.

"No one yet…" Russia announced, turning the corner of the hall carefully. From the thinning smoke, an infected human emerged and growled at the Russian. He took a few steps back and fired the revolver. The infected stumbled back from the blow, but remained determined. Russia shot him again, this time knocking it to the ground, hopefully killing it. He stamped the heel of his boot into the zombie's head; making sure it was dead.

America strode up next to Russia. The smoke was collecting at the ceiling and it was easier to see. They had reached the lobby, but the view was not promising. The fire seemed to have been caused by the vehicle that crashed through the glass front. A few zombies wandered around the open space with no humans in view. Outside, a few surviving people were running the streets and escaping in vehicles. The zombies outside were gathered in large groups, rather than being singled out. Police and military vehicles could be seen, although the officers were missing.

"Where do you suggest we go?" Switzerland asked, approaching the two leading. America remained silent. They were in San Jose, California; on the other side of the country from the capitol. He needed to get in contact with the president, or, at the least, the Secret Service. None of the government personnel here would know him.

"I don't live here." Russia replied while America was quiet. "I say we get out of the city and go somewhere else."

"We might have to take temporary shelter in the city. I need to contact my president, but there's no way any cell phone calls are going to get though." America noted, still thinking of a possible place to go.

"Remember, you're not the only one who needs to contact someone. All of us want to know if the worst has reached our home yet." Russia said in response to him. With America being close to his home and the disease possibly being airborne, it could already be affecting the citizens of Siberia.

"I know…" America muttered in contempt.

"Hey!" Germany shouted from behind the three. "Your zombies are getting closer to us; we should be heading out of here shortly." The infected in the lobby area were indeed beginning to shamble closer to the group. From the distance, they didn't pose much of a threat though.

"So? Where to?" The Swiss asked America.

"The library is close to here…and it's tall. I don't know how easy it is to defend, but it should be good." America answered. He had decided on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, about half a mile from their current location. Any other landmarks were further away and required crossing into main roads.

"Fantastic." Russia commented with a note of sarcasm. "Lead the way, America."

The American nodded and began forward, raising his gun to ward off the zombies. The infected were getting closer and America was cautious about shooting them. The few bullets they had couldn't be wasted. He could also see the hordes of zombies outside of building and to him, shooting the few zombies inside seemed pointless.  
>Switzerland had the same thoughts as America. "Try to avoid the zombies if possible. We're lacking ammo and don't have any melee weapons."<p>

"Melee weapons…" America echoed thoughtfully. "We should grab some of those, even if they are improvised."

Switzerland glanced over at him, stopping momentarily. "What do you suggest we take? This place doesn't seem like it what have anything useful, improvised weapons or not."

"You've never played Dead Rising have you?" America asked with a smirk. He turned to the gathered group behind him and announced, "Try to grab anything you can get. Whatever it is, it can probably be made into a weapon one way or another."

Denmark kicked the glass protecting a fire extinguisher. The glass shattered and he grabbed the extinguisher, which was now a weapon. "Will this work?"

America nodded. "Just don't go out of your way to kill zombies." He warned. "Even though that would be fun…"

As America turned to lead the group outside; fear was beginning to set in for some of the nations. They had been through worse. The Black Death, which most of the older European countries had experienced. The two World Wars had significant death tolls and brought terrifying new weapons to the world. Every country could share their stories about disasters, natural or man-made. The violence of this strain of virus had shocked a few nations, but most ignored it, knowing it will pass eventually. Some still kept this mindset, but some refused to shake the fear of an apocalypse.

They passed by the zombies quietly, but the infected still shuffled after them. The noise outside was overwhelming. Sirens blared, voices shouted, vehicles crashed, glass shattered. A small horde of zombies hung around the street, next to a toppled police car.

"Which way do we go? Your building can't be too far, right?" Germany asked, approaching America who stood observing the landscape.

"We need to cut through the park up ahead, go between those two buildings, go up South 2nd Street, take a right down East Fernando Street, and then we should be at the library." America explained, hoping his vague memory of the city was correct.

"Lead the way; I'll try to keep everyone together." Germany said, turning back to the group.

"You do know we can take care of ourselves?" England asked, annoyed by the fact that Germany was trying to take care of them.

"You may have grenades, but everyone else is weaponless." Germany retorted, passing by England and ignoring him.

"We're still countries though. It's not like this can kill us." England muttered in disdain. He could only assume what would happen if one of them was bit, but they had been through much worse. It would be irrational to overreact to something as trivial as this.

"Since we are outside, I suggest you keep quiet about 'us'. Also, this should be taken as seriously as any other situation, should it be a nuclear war or a trifling strain of a virus." Germany warned, pausing in his brisk walk to look at England.

"He's right. Zombies are serious." Prussia replied with a smirk. "Especially because I can be considered a zombie."

"You're…a zombie?" Latvia, who was standing near Prussia, asked timidly.

"Well I don't 'exist', so I _must _be dead." Prussia explained while glaring at Russia.

Latvia followed his look. "I've never heard him say anything about you…w-well at least not recently."

"Good. Damn commie needs to learn when to shut his mouth." Prussia grabbed a metal rod off the ground, which seemed to come from a fallen light post.

"No need to start a war, bruder." Germany warned lightly, passing by Prussia. He merely laughed it off and gave his weapon a practice swing, nearly hitting Austria.

The crowd of zombies before them was still remained together and didn't show signs of attacking. However, they blocked the group's route to the library. "England!" Switzerland shouted while still trying to stay quiet. "A grenade could be useful here."

England nodded and approached the Swiss. "I think the explosion would just alert more of the infected. Surely there is a way around them?"

"According to our leader, America, the only way there is through these zombies." Switzerland remarked with an exasperated sigh. "Give a warning and throw the grenade. Try not to miss."

"I've thrown countless grenades before. Don't worry."

"Stand back!" England shouted to the collection behind him. He took the pin of the explosive in his mouth and tossed the grenade rather gently towards the zombies. The grenade rolled towards the horde; reaching the edge of the assembly of infected. The following explosion left several of the zombies dead, though some still remained standing.

"Nice." America complimented, walking up to England and admiring the aftermath of the grenade.

"Not to trouble you or anything," Norway said to America from near the back of the crowd. ", but I think we have another problem."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! :D Please review if you can. I appreciate everything, even if it is just a favorite. (but seriously reviews are awesome. I would really appreciate a critique)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

America turned to answer Norway and saw at once what he mentioned. Two zombies were sprinting towards the group. Both looked like the other infected, but with more gore and their eyes were noticeably bloodshot, even from the distance. The bright red blood vessels in their arms and legs could be easily seen.

"Russia, you have the revolver. Take them out." America instructed, pointing at the charging zombies.

Russia walked to the general direction of the zombies with his Nagant M1895, a Russian made revolver, which had an extensive history with his country. As the zombies neared closer, just a few meters from him, he fired repeatedly at the two, trusting his aim not to miss.

Both zombies continued forward with no falter. Russia hurriedly began reloading the gun, looking up a few times to judge the amount of time he had left. The zombie growled at him as Russia aimed his gun at the attacking creature. After a few loud shots, the zombie fell at his feet. Blood spattered his jacket and boots.

Russia turned to look for the other zombie. The infected was nearly on top of Romano, but Spain was quick enough to grab the weaker nation by the collar of his shirt and pull him away. The zombie lunged forward again, swiping at the two. "_M-merda_…that was close." The Italian muttered while backing away from the zombie. Russia killed the infected with a careful shot to its head.

"Are you okay?" Italy asked, frantically running over to his brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Romano replied quietly, looking over at Spain. "Thanks for…saving me." He muttered, almost too embarrassed to give his thanks. Spain nodded in response, grimacing slightly.

"I'm almost out of ammo…" Russia reported to Switzerland.

"I gave you all that I had. Try not to waste any more of it." He snapped, narrowing his eyes at the Russian.

"Did it look like I was wasting it?" Russia asked, meeting his glare. Switzerland walked away to America, leaving Russia and the argument.

"Well that grenade cleared out most of the zombies." America announced, leading the way forward to the park. "Let's go." He waved the nations forward. This was something he always secretly wanted; to lead everyone from danger, to be a hero. While the situation at hand was not something to be proud of, he still liked knowing that everyone relied on him now.

The welcoming flora of the park was a refreshing sight in the city landscape. The park seemed void of zombies and the only life was a trio of survivors sitting atop a table. As soon as America entered the green, the citizens looked over at him and the group.

"Please help us!" One of them shouted, jumping off the table and nearly falling to the ground in her excitement. "We don't have any weapons or anything! We'll never make it; please help us. We can help you, I swear. We won't cause you any trouble or anything! Please just help us, don't leave us here!" She continued to plead, running up to America. The other's with her followed, carrying a few backpacks stuffed with possessions.

America looked at them with sympathy. He was about to offer his help, he felt like he had to. They were the people he had to protect.

"We can't help you." Russia said harshly, pushing past them and America.

"Wait…" America muttered weakly and jogged up to Russia. "Surely we can help them, I – "

"Are you stupid?" Russia asked, whipping around to face America. "We have enough of us already. We can't stop to help some useless Americans just because you want to. You have to think of us, our current objectives, and the situation at hand. You're being selfish."

"He's right." England added, brushing past America, who stood staring at the survivors. "Come on. You're the only one who knows the way to go."

America gave a defeated sigh and turned away from the begging people. Their cries died away as he quickened his stride to make his way back to the front of the group. It had struck him then how some of the nations could act so inhuman. Immoral actions had become natural for many of them over the course of history. America had seen his share of war, but felt he would never lose his sense of morality.

"Through here?" France asked, involuntarily leading the group. He stopped at a clean alleyway between two buildings. The passage contained a few solitary zombies and one on the ground, seeming to be on top of something.

"Yeah." America confirmed while approaching France. "The zombies…shouldn't be too hard to avoid. If anyone found a melee weapon, use it." He began along the path with Russia flanking him. Prussia had also made his way near the front of the group with the hopes he could use the metal rod he found.

A sudden beeping from the middle of the group attracted the attention of the nations. "S-sorry…" Lithuania mumbled while anxiously trying to turn off his cell phone. Russia sighed and muttered to himself about the incompetence of the Baltics.

The ringing also appealed to the infected standing in the path.

"Shit..." America muttered, watching three of the zombies start running towards them. They had quickly taken on the characteristics of the more dangerous infected. With them only being meters away, they quickly overcame the countries at the head of the group.

America had tried to shoot the zombies at first, but one of them leaped onto him and pushed him to the pavement. Blood from the discolored face of the infected dripped onto his as it snarled at him heatedly. America tried to push away the zombie, but the position it had him trapped in didn't allow him to move.

The heel of a boot scraped against the American's face and dislodged the zombie from him. He scrambled back and was helped up by Canada who then immediately threw himself in front of his brother. America had dropped his gun while being attacked and also lacked a melee weapon. Canada was just as defenseless.

America hectically searched around for a weapon of some sort. A wooden bench that had crushed in the middle by something, probably a struggle between zombies, left splintered pieces of wood. He grabbed one and dislodged it from the bench. The attacking zombie was trying to grab Canada, who was narrowly avoiding the dangerous swipes. It also made several futile attempts to bite him.

America kicked the infected away from his brother and swung the plank of wood into its head. It fell back onto the ground and blood came streaming from its face. It stayed motionless, but America felt the need to shove the end of the board into the zombie's bloodied head.

America turned to face Canada, but he had already disappeared into the panicking crowd.

Prussia swung the broken rod into the back of a zombie charging towards Belarus. She was armed with one of her knives she carried with her, but Prussia still wanted to protect her. The zombie merely stumbled before continuing its attack on Belarus. Prussia ran after it and pushed it to a wall with the metal pole. Belarus ran over and cleanly sliced the zombie's neck. A satisfied smile crept onto her face.

"Thank you." She said gratefully to Prussia.

He looked at the zombie warily. She had done a scarily efficient job of killing it. "Don't thank me; I just wanted to kill something. But of course you had to do that."

"What did you expect me to do? Wait for you to be the 'awesome hero' you think you are?" She questioned, glaring at him with amusement.

Romano noticed that Spain was being unusually quiet and was clutching his arm. "Are you okay?" Romano asked Spain quietly as the group recovered from the hasty attack.

Spain nodded weakly while biting his lip. Romano wasn't convinced. "Were you bit by one of the zombies?" The thought had suddenly occurred to him, but he doubted it would be true.

Spain looked away nervously. "The one that attacked you…it did bite me." He admitted while carefully removing his hand from the painful wound. It was clearly a human bite mark, but with an unnatural shade of purple infecting the area around it. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but the skin was soaked with it.

"Spain…" America said warily, staring at the injury. "How did that happen?"

Spain looked over at America who was obviously concerned. "It's not that bad… a bit painful though…"

"You're going to turn into a zombie!" America shouted in fear, taking a careful step away from Spain.

"Something such as this couldn't _possibly _affect us." England explained to him. "You're still a young country, but you should know this." He ended narrowing his eyes at America, who folded his arms in indignation.

"How do you know this won't turn him into a zombie? Have you researched this? Do you even know what type of virus it is?" America countered, nervously glancing at Spain a few times.

"How the bloody hell could I have researched this? I know only you would waste your time researching this petty disease. You can't imagine how many Europeans died from the Black Death!" England yelled back, refusing to believe anything America said about an apocalypse.

"It's estimated 75 million died." America retorted. "I do know about your history, even though you seem to enjoy this view of me being ignorant."

England, who had already wasted several seconds in silence, was interrupted by Spain coughing violently and falling to the ground in pain. England jumped back, almost into America, and watched as Spain kneeled on the ground, grabbing his chest in pain. His skin was losing color slowly, fading into an unnatural white.

The group fell into an unnerving silence as they watched the suffering nation. Spain also lapsed into quietness for a few moments until he began standing up. He stumbled forward clumsily towards America, who clutched England's arm in fear. Spain lifted his head, revealing a pale face and glossy, bloodshot eyes. They darted around anxiously, but Spain remained where he stood.

"Mein gott…" Prussia muttered under his breath while staring at the lifeless figure.

"How do we kill him?" Hungary whispered to America.

"I…" America whispered and then shook his head, not able to find an answer.

England spoke up and offered, "We can't kill countries…I guess we have to leave him."

"We need to find a cure." Japan stated calmly. "Do you remember where exactly you tested this?" He asked, looking towards America.

"Near D.C. I can't get there now unless we can get a private plane over here somehow."

"Fantastic." England added. "Until then, I say we just leave Spain here and head to the library."

America sighed. "When we manage to find a cure, how are we going to find Spain?"

"Do you suggest we bring him with us?" Russia asked, placing his hand on the smaller nation's shoulder.

America muttered in reply, "No." He gave another look at Spain, who was taking a step towards him. "Let's go."

America walked from Russia's grasp and went to the front of the group where his brother was. "You weren't bit, were you?" He asked quietly, looking over Canada quickly.

"No. I'm fine." Canada reassured his brother, looking ahead. "We don't have to far to go."

America gave his brother a curious glance and began walking into the street, confident that the group was following him.

Romano looked mournfully at Spain. Though Romano's demeanor often showed his hatred toward the other nation, he really did like Spain. It was painful to leave him and to see him this inhuman. "Are you just going to stand there?" Finland asked worriedly, hesitating in his escape.

Romano looked away from Spain and turned to the blonde-haired nation. "I'm coming…"

"I know you lived with him for quite some time…I can't imagine what it would be like to lose Sweden or anyone else in my family." Finland explained with sympathy. He only received a quick glare from Romano whose gaze was mostly cast at the ground.

They walked down the street without interruption. No humans or zombies could be seen either way down the road and they didn't meet any. "This isn't right." America stated, leading the group casually. The recent incident with Spain didn't seem to affect him much.

"I'll have to agree with you on that." Russia commented, looking around the abandoned city. A flock of birds burst into the air suddenly from the rooftop of a building at the corner of the street.

The noise hadn't died down and evidence of the tragedy was evident in the streets. Wrecked vehicles, broken windows, weak fires, and smoke curling up from various points. Screams could still be heard, but the amount was dying down.

America stopped at the corner of the street and peered around the corner. He felt confident, but he hated the other's seeing him as stupid and useless. And the sight before him was something none of them wanted to see.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Shit." America whispered, pulling himself away from the scene. He leaned against the building and waited for the rest of the group to reach his spot.  
>"What's the problem now?" Russia asked mockingly. He stayed away from the corner though; he didn't doubt America's seriousness.<br>"Nothing, nothing. It just looks like zombie hell over there." America replied sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes at the smiling Russia.  
>"That can't be too bad. Afraid of some zombies, America?" Russia continued taunting the younger nation, laughing to himself quietly.<p>

"Well?" Germany asked, walking up to the corner. "Why did you stop?"  
>America sighed, averting his glare from Russia. "There are more zombies than we can take on."<br>"Can't we just go around them? Surely this isn't the only way over there." Germany questioned, looking down the street and searching for another way in.  
>"They're in front of the library. That's the only way we can get in. One of the fire exits might be open, but if they set off an alarm it could attract more zombies." America explained quickly, turning to look at the library again.<p>

Germany walked out into the street to study the library. The zombies crowded around the front, but none of them seemed to have any purpose. A few shuffled around while most just swayed occasionally. "Why aren't we moving?" Prussia shouted from the group behind him.  
>"America says there's a problem." Russia explained.<br>"Could you take this seriously?" America asked, glaring at him.  
>"I am. You're just being dramatic." Russia muttered in reply.<br>"I have an idea, if you two would shut up for a few minutes." Norway said, pushing his way to the front of the group.  
>"It's not my fault Russia's a commie fag." America answered. Russia rolled the barrel on his revolver while smiling innocently at America.<br>Norway sighed. "I think the zombies are blind. What I mean by that is, they rely only on sound. If someone were to walk through that crowd over there," he pointed at the library, "and remain quiet, the zombies would ignore them. Now I see how some of you would get mauled by the infected as soon as you got near them, but most of us could get through."  
>"Interesting theory, but it's too risky to test." England stated while grabbing a grenade from France.<p>

"I'll do it." A shaky voice volunteered from crowd. Latvia emerged, pushing past Russia who immediately started laughing.  
>"We don't need you sacrificing yourself." England replied strongly. "We need everyone capable of helping us research this virus."<br>Austria, standing near England, added, "This is research."  
>"Yes, but it's <em>dangerous<em>." England retaliated.  
>"Hey, nothing good comes without risks." America said while placing his arm around England's shoulders.<br>"Get your hands off me!" England shouted, jumping away from America. "Okay, fine. Latvia can go get himself killed for all I care."

Latvia smiled and left the group. The zombies were a way down the street, but they were ignoring him so far. He walked forward at a normal pace and looked around cautiously every time he heard a particularly loud sound. The group watched him quietly, getting tenser as he moved closer to the zombies. The nations in the back waited for the reactions of the ones watching.  
>Latvia was now close enough to the zombie horde that he could touch them. He held his breath and carefully continued forward, keeping his eyes towards the ground. The appearance of the zombies was unnerving and gave him a reason to keep looking down. There was an odd smell to them, but he couldn't directly place it. It wasn't bad and to him it smelled like a dull citrus scent. A bit like Lithuania's cleaning supplies.<br>"He's good so far," Germany noted.  
>"He's getting close to those zombies, don't you think so?" Lithuania asked England and Germany.<br>"It was his choice." England replied curtly.  
>"Okay, maybe we should just go around. There…might be a way into the library there." America suggested.<br>England scoffed, "And leave Latvia here? Now we have to wait for him before we go anywhere."

Latvia had now disappeared from the group's view. He kept looking behind him with a panicked expression. He was starting to regret doing this, but he was getting closer to the library. Some of the zombies were walking towards him unconsciously, their eyes unseeing. He could hear some feral growls near him that sent a shiver down his back. They sounded far from anything a human could make. The front entrance to the library was only a few meters away.

"Well…I guess he'll meet us there." England muttered after America won the argument to find another route.  
>"Stop complaining. It could be worse." America replied with a laugh.<br>"Could be worse…" England echoed. "It's only an apocalypse."  
>"Now you believe me? A while ago you were sayin' this wasn't a big deal."<br>"I take that back. This virus looks a bit more severe than I had originally thought." England paused for a moment. "So what exactly were you injecting into those rats?"  
>"Hm? Do you mean the experiment?"<br>"What else would I be referring to?"  
>"I'm not sure. Some weird mix of rabies and a few other diseases. I think the scientist's intention was a bioweapon."<br>"A bit too effective." England remarked.  
>"No shit. I dunno how it got to the public though. Since the lab was on the East coast, the news woulda covered the story if it broke out over there, but did they bring it over here? Were they actually planning on using it?"<br>"Are you still talking to me?"  
>"Not really…" America muttered before falling silent and thinking over the situation in his head.<br>The group was lead through a darker alleyway, but there was no sign of zombies nearby. There were a few zombies leading up the road to the library, but America insisted they would be killed easily.  
>"C'mon, it's just three or four zombies. It's probably some of the nice ones too." America joked while leading the group up the deserted street.<br>"I am beginning to think you are not mentally stable enough to be leading us through an entire city filled with zombies." England suggested which got a nod of agreement from Switzerland. America ignored the insult and approached the first infected human in their path. He was still carrying the plank he grabbed from the first attack. He knew well enough that they were running low on ammo.

"M'kay. Seems quiet enough…" He muttered to himself as he raised the wood over his shoulder, thinking of a good position to strike the zombie from. The infected turned around with a growl when it heard the words. It's faced showed the abnormally pale skin and bloodshot eyes of a normal zombie. America smirked and swung the board at the zombie's neck. There was a satisfying _crack _and the zombie fell to the ground was an inhuman shriek.  
>"See? Not hard at all."<br>"Unless the zombies up ahead are the ones we met in that alley." Germany stated, a bit worried about America's overconfidence.  
>"Yeah, but chances are they're not."<br>"I feel safer already with your reasonable statistics." England grumbled sarcastically.  
>"You're no fun." America muttered, trying to ignore the Brit.<br>England walked over to the next zombie in their path, ignoring any of the American's questions and stood behind the infected quietly. He raised the pistol, checked the ammo, and shoved the gun against the zombie's head before firing.  
>Arthur sighed and wiped the blood off his face and clothes. Alfred ran over to him and laughed, "I didn't know you could be badass."<br>"I was a pirate. Of course I can fight some petty zombies."  
>"Oh come on!" Prussia shouted while running over to them. "You two are taking all the glory. I'm in a zombie apocalypse and I haven't killed a <em>single <em>zombie yet."  
>"I honestly don't see what's so great about an <em>apocalypse<em>." Germany remarked, looking over at his brother curiously.  
>"Well obviously you don't. You hate fighting."<br>Germany narrowed his eyes and said nothing in reply. Prussia smirked and walked ahead with America.  
>"I think we should just go into the library." China suggested, jogging up to the leading nations. "America, if you think we can actually find a cure and return all of these things to normal, then that means you are actually killing potential innocents for fun, aru."<br>America looked over at China and gave him a scrutinizing look. "They're trying to kill us. What do you want me to do?"  
>"You could have easily walked past them without them harming you, aru."<br>America turned away in silence and walked over to Prussia who had waited for him. They lead the way into the library, America begrudgingly ignoring the third zombie in their path and disregarding Prussia's pleads to kill it. Latvia stood outside the doors waiting for them.  
>Lithuania ran over to him with Poland close behind. "Do you really think there is going to be any weapons inside a <em>library<em>?" Denmark asked skeptically, ignoring the embracing pair near him.  
>"That's not why we're here. At least I think that wasn't America's intent." England responded with a shrug, holding a door open for the group. "You didn't get hurt did you, Latvia?"<br>The smaller nation shook his head. "Norway was right."  
>England nodded in response. "That's what I thought. Well, good job on volunteering for that anyway."<p>

The lobby of the library was a pristine and quiet room. The armchairs and carpeted floor gave off a comforting feeling. A few of the tropical plants had fallen over and there were a few magazines and books scattered across the floor. The checkout desk had toppled stacks of paper and a book splattered with blood. It looked real enough.  
>"Glad there's no zombies." Finland remarked, looking around the room to double check.<br>"But the lack of actual humans is a bit unsettling…" Germany noted.  
>America wandered over to the counter and found a packet showing the floors of the building and what was on each level. "Okay…we're going to need a map of the city and that would be on floor…" he trailed off and flipped through the pages. "Is this a library or a research center?"<br>"What's the problem now?" England asked, pulling the papers out of America's hands.  
>"Look at all the reference floors! Considering the size of this library it'll be impossible to actually find a map."<br>"Impossible? It's only a map." England looked over the pages and then sighed. "But you're correct that a simple map of the city could be on any of the floors, excluding the first and third. A building like this is decent enough to camp out in for a night and there is a café of sorts over there." England nodded towards the walled off section adjacent to the children's area.  
>"What, you want us to stay here?" America questioned, looking around. "There's no weapons."<br>"Only long enough for us to eat, rest, and plan." He looked at the nations walking around the floor. After clearing his throat, he announced, "Alright! It looks like we're going to be spending the night here. We're going to need supplies, so I'm going to have some groups go around looking for the necessities." He paused and continued after no one objected. "First group will be Italy, Romano, Germany, and Japan. You four will go into that café over there and bring food up to the…third floor.  
>"Then we'll have the Nordics search the top two floors for a map of the city. America, France, China, Russia, and I will set-up the third floor. Austria, Hungary, Prussia, and the Baltics will search the ground floor for general supplies. Everyone else can go to the rest of the floors and look for that map and any other reference that may help us."<br>"Sounds like a good enough plan." Germany agreed, nodding. " Good luck everyone." He headed off to the café with Italy running ahead and Japan and Romano trailing behind.  
>America nodded his agreement as well. "Let's go."<p> 


End file.
